Despite the rise in the popularity of social media, IHG's Jos Weesjes believes SEM still reigns when it comes to direct revenue generation.

As far as Jos Weesjes (right), vice president, distribution marketing & revenue management, InterContinental Hotels Group Asia Pacific, is concerned, SEM (Search Engine Marketing) remains the most effective tool for direct revenue generation despite the rise in popularity of social media.

He said, "It is known that people search four to five times before making a choice so you want to make sure they find you easily. Some customers use Expedia to search or they use branded networks. Then there's the meta search sites like Wego which I see as the Google of travel."

Asked what difference sites such as Wego offered in relation to Expedia if customers were using the latter for search anyway, Weesjes said, "I am not sure of the value to customers but the difference is Wego takes customers directly to our sites.

"We work with search sites like Kayak, Wego and Qunar and they do attract a lot of eyeballs.

"The key is consumers are shopping between brands and to make their decisions on hotels, they go through four or five searches, so you have to make sure you are there at every search point."

He said that SEM is more effective than banner placements or rich media when it comes to direct revenue generation. "A customer is looking for price points and they want to see relevant search results. Once you've got your SEM in place, then you can add rich media – banners, videos, pop-ups. This then effectively engages consumers."

Asked if the Internet was putting price before brand in front of consumers, Weesjes said, "I would be naïve to say consumers are buying solely on brand. Price is a determining factor but brand is also part of the consideration, particularly in the jungle out there. Branding is important as it implies a certain quality of standards."

Weesjes said the whole business of branding had undergone a sea of change in the Web 2.0 environment. "In the 90s, when we went online, we told consumers, this is the way you have to work with us. In Web 2.0, consumers are looking for ways to communicate with each other about brands.

"Brand marketers have to be clear in how they engage with customers who now own part of the story. For example, the influence of YouTube is enormous – how do the branding teams within the hotels react to this? Or comments on UGC sites – how do we react to customer feedback? We need a clear strategy on how to react."

Interestingly, Weesjes said the majority of online reviews were positive. "The beauty of travel is people just want to talk about their experiences."

Brands also have to be clear which social media platform they wanted to engage. "You have to ask what's your brand positioning and customer demographic. Would Twitter be more suited to Holiday Inn Express versus InterContinental? It's not a blanket approach, and you need to develop a strategy on what works."

For him, online branding is about relationship marketing and relevance – the right kind of message in the right context.

Weesjes believes social media is good for raising awareness and does not see its immediate effect on direct revenue generation.

He is also concerned that as more commercial interests enter the social media space, there could be a backlash. "It started because people wanted personalisation – their space, they wanted instant gratification – the ability to make comments – and they wanted to share with friends. If that changes, then it would tip the balance."

4Hoteliers is the "Official Daily News" of WIT09

www.webintravel.com - October 20-23, 2009 Suntec Convention Centre, Singapore